26 April 1986: an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl Power Plant released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history in terms of cost and casualties. The 30 km Zone of Alienation was established soon after the disaster. It is an officially designated exclusion area around the site of the damaged nuclear reactor.

Photographer André Joosse visited the Zone several times to document the abandoned villages, the city of Pripyat and the Nuclear Power Plant site. On this website you can see his photographs of Chernobyl, 30 years after the disaster.